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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

O-Like 80mw 473nm Lab Unit

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http://www.o-like.com/b2b_cpinfo.asp?id=1051

This is probably the cheapest high powered blue available anywhere. US$ 492 for the basic unit plus US$ 28 shipping to the UK. Less than US$ 500 for 80mw of 473 was something I could not resist. So what's the verdict?

Shipping was no problem. Good communication from Susie at O-Like. Unit arrived within about 10 days by courier. Extremely well packed.

It comprises two boxes. A robust alumimium control box (6.5" by 3") and the module itself in a robust black housing (5.5" by 2.5"). The connection is a short length of chunky black cable. The whole assembly is easily portable and could be used outside with an extension cable. For accurate photos, see the website link above.

There is no separate on-off switch so control is by switching on/off at the wall.

Now for the performance.

The beam is good. Measured against a black background it is 1mm * 2mm at the aperture and 3mm * 4.5 mm at 4.50 metres, giving divergence of well under 1 mrad.

Power is as per attached:

attachment.php


As can be seen, there is a momentary peak of 71, falling off to a very steady and sustained 60mw. No IR leakage.

However, this raises the tricky question of whether this laser is off-spec. To cut a long story short, you need to be aware that although O-Like headline this laser as 80mw, the small print gives a spec of 50-80mw. On that basis, the laser is within spec, but on the basis of the headline figure it is 25% below spec. Anyway, I had a bit of a debate about this with O-Like Susie and the upshot was a US$ 50 refund which seems fair.

Note also that O-Like do a 50mw unit for US$ 372. Sensibly, this is specified in the small print as 45-55mw (as you would expect), but it means there is the prospect of somebody who buys the 80mw ending up with 50mw whereas somebody who buys the 50mw could end up with 55mw. A bit odd!

I also understand from Jerry that O-Like have a laserbee. So it might be worth checking the output power with Susie before placing an order (and remember to specify that you are looking for sustained, not peak).

Colour is a brilliant mid-blue, nothing like a blu ray 405. Visual brightness is obviously less than a comparable green. The photo below gives some idea - a 50mw green spot next to the O-like spot (ignore the washed out colours). The green is certainly brighter. I would rate the blue as being visually equivalent to perhaps a 25mw green. Still, nicely bright.

attachment.php


Overall, unbeatable value for a high-powered blue.

David
 

Attachments

  • o-like 473 nm 80mw.jpg
    o-like 473 nm 80mw.jpg
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  • Spot comparison.jpg
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Well, it's "in spec" but it's certainly rather deceiving on their website. With a laser as expensive as 473, I'd expect a better output range than 50-80mW.
 
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Nice review. I'm looking into saving up for this laser. Do you have any other pictures of the laser or beam shots?
 

diachi

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Nice review.

Try running it for an hour or longer and then meter it. Give it plenty of time to heat up and stabalize.
 
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Nice review.

Try running it for an hour or longer and then meter it. Give it plenty of time to heat up and stabalize.


I second that. Even higher quality lasers can take 15 minutes to reach full power and stabilize. Run it for a half hour straight, on a heat sink, and then measure power :D
 
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Nice review. I'm looking into saving up for this laser. Do you have any other pictures of the laser or beam shots?

The O-like pictures of the unit are accurate. I'll try to get a beam shot this evening using a home-made fog machine aka "kettle" ;-)
 
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I second that. Even higher quality lasers can take 15 minutes to reach full power and stabilize. Run it for a half hour straight, on a heat sink, and then measure power :D

I'll have a hunt for a solid metal block of some kind, run the test and report back.
 
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I second that. Even higher quality lasers can take 15 minutes to reach full power and stabilize. Run it for a half hour straight, on a heat sink, and then measure power :D

Ok I tried two test runs.

The first was with a highly sophisticated heatsink arrangement consisting of a dinner plate with a 1/4 " of chilled water in it.

attachment.php


No harm done to the module since it sits on its own 1/4" thick metal heatsink.

I ran the unit for 15 minutes in this configuration. The unit remained cool to the touch throughout. The result is below.

attachment.php


As can be seen it rises fairly quickly to about 62/63 mw and is then steady.

I then ran the unit for 30 minutes without the water cooling. The unit got warm to the touch but not excessively so. Result below:

attachment.php


This gives a slightly less stable output but with a higher average at about 67/68 mw and a couple of 70+ peaks (inc. a max of 74).

So its clear that the unit likes to run warm and that once it is has warmed up, it is still below spec (by about 12mw), but less so than I originally thought ;-)

Will post beam pics on Monday.

David
 

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  • O-Like 473 80mw Lab Unit additional water cooling.jpg
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  • Patented heat sink arrangement for O-Like 80mw testing.jpg
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  • O-Like 473 80mw Lab Unit no additional cooling.jpg
    O-Like 473 80mw Lab Unit no additional cooling.jpg
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Krutz

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thank you for the review and details! perhaps, someday.. *dreams* :)

manuel
 




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